dactyl (Meaning)
dactyl (n)
a metrical unit with stressed-unstressed-unstressed syllables
a finger or toe in human beings or corresponding body part in other vertebrates
dactyl (n.)
A poetical foot of three sylables (-- ~ ~), one long followed by two short, or one accented followed by two unaccented; as, L. tegm/n/, E. mer\b6ciful; -- so called from the similarity of its arrangement to that of the joints of a finger.
A finger or toe; a digit.
The claw or terminal joint of a leg of an insect or crustacean.
Synonyms & Antonyms of dactyl
No Synonyms and anytonyms found
dactyl Sentence Examples
- A dactyl is a metrical foot in poetry consisting of one stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables.
- The word "poetry" itself is an example of a dactyl, with the stress falling on the first syllable.
- In Greek and Latin poetry, dactyls were frequently used in epic verse and hymns.
- The rhythmic pattern of dactyls creates a flowing and dynamic effect in poetry.
- Edgar Allan Poe's poem "The Raven" employs dactylic meter in its famous line, "Once upon a midnight dreary."
- Dactyls are one of the building blocks of classical metrics, along with trochees, iambs, and anapests.
- The dactylic hexameter, with six dactyls per line, was the meter of choice for ancient Greek and Roman epic poetry.
- The dactyl is named after the Greek word "daktylos," meaning "finger," because of its three-part structure resembling the joints of a finger.
- When scanning poetry, identifying dactyls helps determine the overall rhythm and meter of the poem.
- Dactyls contribute to the musicality and cadence of verse, enhancing its aesthetic appeal to the ear.
FAQs About the word dactyl
a metrical unit with stressed-unstressed-unstressed syllables, a finger or toe in human beings or corresponding body part in other vertebratesA poetical foot of
No synonyms found.
No antonyms found.
A dactyl is a metrical foot in poetry consisting of one stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables.
The word "poetry" itself is an example of a dactyl, with the stress falling on the first syllable.
In Greek and Latin poetry, dactyls were frequently used in epic verse and hymns.
The rhythmic pattern of dactyls creates a flowing and dynamic effect in poetry.
